1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to seats and shelves used in bathrooms and shower stalls, and in particular to cultured marble shower seats.
2. Background--Description of Related Art
Shower seats and shelves have been installed in shower stalls for many years. Shower seats are especially popular among women who use them when they shave their legs. Furthermore, some physically challenged people find that shower seats are a necessity.
Shower seats are constructed out of a variety of material. Portable plastic seats are often used. While functional, plastic shower seats have significant aesthetic drawbacks. They often create the impression of a hospital or nursing home retrofit. For aesthetic reasons, shower seats are often constructed of the same material as the shower stall walls. For instance, single-piece fiberglass shower stalls often have shower seats and shelves molded into them. Shower stalls lined with ceramic tile often have shower seats constructed of a wood or brick frame lined with tile matching that used on the walls. Similarly, stalls lined with marble tile often have shower seats built up from bricks. The marble tiles are then attached to the brick pedestal by means of adhesive and cement grout. Brick pedestals are expensive to build. Another solution used in marble shower stalls is the use of a natural marble slab cantilevered from a corner of the stall.
There are several problems associated with the use of natural marble cantilevered shower seats. Natural marble has veins of weaker stone which often cannot be detected by the naked eye. These veins can substantially weaken the slab, causing it to break. When natural marble breaks, it often breaks into sharp edges creating a safety hazard. Only carrara white marble has sufficient strength to be used in cantilevered shower seats.
Other colors in natural marble are not available because natural marble does not have sufficient strength for a cantilevered type of support. As such, unless the surrounding tile is also cut from carrara white marble, natural marble shower cantilevered seats do not match the surrounding tile. Thus, for any other color of marble, cantilevered seats are not aesthetically acceptable. As described above, colors can be matched if the seat is made of tile and supported by a structure formed out of brick or wood. These structures, however, are excessively expensive.
The need has arisen for an apparatus, therefore, when used as a shower seat in a shower stall lined with marble to be aesthetically acceptable by matching the color of the surrounding marble and to have the strength to safely support the weight of the human sitting on the seat with an acceptable factor of safety.